ViortIlantnn

The United Workhouse Visiting Society has addressed a letter to Boards of Guardians on the subject of destitute incurables. There are 80,000 persons afflicted with mortal diseases, of whom half belong to the working classes. This number die every year, and there is no existing agency to meet the alleviation of the suffering. The Society propose an ingenious and commendable plan of operations— Lot all persons in the workhouse suffering from acute and distressing disease, such as dropsy, consumption, cancer, &e., be placed by themselves in wards apart, to be called the wards for male and female sick and in- curables. Iii these particular wards, let private charity be admitted, to in- troduce whatever may alleviate the condition of the inmates.

"On the passing of such rules by any Board of Guardians, it would fol- low that the members of the Workhouse Visiting Society would raise and employ the moderate subscriptions needful to convert these wards into suit- able and comfortable hospitals for incurables. Under the sanction and with the cooperation of the surgeon, and in concert with the other officials, they

would provide good beds for the bedridden, easy chairs both for those who cannot lay down and for those who ought for some hours each day to leave their beds, the salaries of trained nurses if required, and such other trifles as lemonade, extra tea, books, Fre., as may seem desirable." It is submitted that this little plan possesses the following recommenda- tions—

" While relieving much suffering at small cost, it involves no injustice to the ratepayers, as it does not call on them for any extra expense what- ever.

" It cannot encourage pauperism, seeing that no person will incur mortal disease to profit by it ; and if it be suspected that any patient could be sup- ported by his friends, it would remain in the power of the Board, as at pre- sent, to deny him admission after examination by the relieving officer."

In consequence of continued ill-health, the representative of Oldham, Mr. W. J. Fox, contemplates retiring from Parliamentary life before the opening of next session.

Before his departure for home, Mr. Lindsay sent the following letter to the Philadelphia Board of Trade- " New York, Nov. 21, 1860. My dear Sir,—I met the committee of the Clamber of Commerce here, as you will perceive by the reports which .appear in the newspapers of this day. I may state that I have agreed with

our Government on all the six points named (as also signals at sea), which will be sent by your Government to the Government of Great Britain by the mail of next week, and I doubt not will be ratified by international treaty within two months from the present time. My visit, therefore, is likely to produce results of vast importance to both countries.—I am, yours, W. B. Lizamax," Frederick William IV. King of Prussia, died at twenty minutes to one • -o'clock, a.m. on Wednesday, at Sans &mei. He was born on the 15th of 'October, 1795, so that he had entered his 68th year. He was the eon of Frederick William III. and his Queen Louise ; his education was con- -ducted by the most accomplished professors ; and, as be had natural parts, he become one of the greatest scholars of his day. If he had not been born heir to a kingdom, it is probable he would have added another to the roll of scholarly and philosophic names of Germany. As a politician, he was a theorist; and, when he came to the throne in 1840, his incapa- -city for action appeared as the only defect in a character which combined in perfection the gentleman and the man of letters.

Dr. Mark and his little men are engaged by Mr. Mitchell to appear in 'London at St. James's Hall, on the 12th instant. The "little men' are a troop of forty boys trained by Dr. Mark, of Manchester, at the Royal Col- lege of Music. In the provinces, their performances have given great satis- faction. Their engagement is limited to a week.

"Sal" writes to the Timer, to expose the effects of a common practice— throwing salt on the foot pavement to dissolve snow and ice—" The che- mical action of salt upon snow is to cause the snow to dissolve rapidly, and, in melting, it extracts heat from everything which it touches, so that the readiest node of producing frost bite will be to put the hand or foot into a mixture of salt and snow." The writer's theory is that the process renders the pavement doubly cold for walkers. It is certainly dangerous when a frost follows.

A gale at sea set in on Monday evening. Two shipwrecks took place on the Goodwin Sands on New Year's Day. One vessel was the French barque Dugay Trouin of St. Vast; the crew finding the ship going to pieces made their escape in the boats. The other vessel was a Dutch ship—tne Guttenberg— from New York to Hamburg ; the mate and five of the crew got off into Dover in the boats, but the captain and the rest are missing. The vessel went to pieces. During the same day there was a greater destruction of property on the opposite (French) coast, where the gale appears to have told with most disastrous results. All the Western ports report.the gale to have raged with much fury on Monday night, with heavy rain. The Vul- ture screw-steamer, from Bayonne for Hull, in proceeding up Channel, was struck by a heavy sea, which did much damage on deck, killed one of the crew, and fractured several ribs of the master, Captain Smith. In the neighbourhood of Ilfracombe a serious Lass, both as regards life and pro- zrty, happened. The Spanish ship, Duke Nombre de Jesus, Ondaza, from Havanna for Bristol, laden with sugar, went upon the rocks East of Morte Point, and became a total wreck, the captain and three of the crew un- happily perishing. A French vessel is reported to have been wrecked near Morte .Bay in the course of the night, and it is said that several of the crew were drowned. Several fatal shipwrecks took place on the North-east coast. The collier brig Lovely Nelly, beloug1ng to Seaham, bound to London from Sunderland, was driven on the Whitby Sands and became a total wreck, the whole of the crew perishing except one—a boy. A quantity of wreck was also seen off this section of the coast, which has led to a 'belief that some fatal catastrophe happened during the night. On the Ross Sands, Just above Holy Island, the Timbuctoo, of Scarborough, was totally lost, with, it is feared, the whole of the crew. Nothing has been heard of them. A Hanoverian schooner was also carried ashore at Beadnell, in the same neighbourhood, and all belonging to her perished. The loss of the Golden Star, 1198 tons, and the melancholy fate of the captain, his wife, and moat of the crew, near Bannow Bay, has excited a painful interest. She had 3750 bales of cotton on board, from Mobile ; the current carried in the ship towards Carnivan Head, where she struck on the rocks. This took place about ten o'clock; the ship struck on the rocks stem foremost. They then tried to send a line ashore to the people collected there, but failed, as the current carried it along the beach. A line was then thrown from the shore by a rocket, which failed in reaching the ship, but they seemed to believe it had, as they did not make any further attempts to send a second. In about half an hour afterwards, the ship went to pieces. The captain, his wife, stewardess, and eighteen of the crew perished, and the remainder of the crew (seven) were saved. Their escape was truly marvellous. hen the forward part of the ship broke away from the stern portion of the ship, it swung round and broke all to pieces. The next two seas burst the star- board Bide of the stern part of the ship open, which was hanging on the rocks, and swept out about 200 bales of cotton, which, for about five seconds, formed a sort of bridge between the wreck and the shore, and, by running and jumping from one to another, the survivors succeeded in getting ashore. The loss of the ship and cargo is estimated at 40,0001.

On Sunday, the Norval was wrecked, but the crew were all saved by the eoura,oe of a few brave fellows, who manned a fishing-boat, and went out to the crew, whom they brought on shore amid the exclaniations of a crowd. The Erina was wrecked on the outer breakwater at Portland, on the same day; the pilot was drowned.

_Fresh evidence of the severity of the weather last week has been fur- nished to the public journals. Mr. E. Y. Lowe communicates his observe- Wag of the temperature at four feet, and on the grass—

Greatest cold at 4 feet. Greatest cold on

Greatest cold at 4 feet. Greatest cold on grass.

Date. Deg.

Kr.

Date. Deg. Deg.

17th 28-5 ..

. 26-0

26th + 0.5 ...

, — 3-0

Ilith 23• 5 . 21'5 25th — 80 .... —138 19th

93-0

201 26th

+14-0 .... + 8-0

20th 24'0

24-0

27th 24.0 .... +140 21st 261

23.0

28th 16'0 .... +10'0 22d

27-2 . 24-0

29th

4-9 ....

+08

234

21-0

+18'0 30th

29-0 ....

+290

Mean temperature of the twenty-four hours in comparison with the mean of each day for forty-three years, as determined by Mr. Giaisher-

Mean temperature

Mean of 43 Difference, or degrees

in 1860.

years.

below the mean.

Date. Deg. Deg. Deg.

1187tthh 19th

33-1

292 28'4 40-1 39 ' 9 39• 5

7-*

101 111 20th 30' 4

39-0

IP 6 21st 301 38'4 7.5 224

30- l

37 • 9

7,8

234 26 • 8 374 106

24th

13-3

37'0

23-7

25th 40 36•5 32'5 26th

22-6 36-4

13'8 27th 289 365 7'0 28th 23• 6

37-0

13 • 4 29th 217 373 15'6

Thus, on the 14th, the temperature was 23.7 deg. below the mean, and on the 25th the extraordinary amount of 32-5 deg. below that of the average of 43 years— an unprecedented temperature for this country. The wind was N. and N.W. on the 17th. W.N.W. on the 18th, moving at 12 a.m. on the 19th through W. to S., and forward at 10.20 p.m. through E. to N.N.E ; on the 20th, 21st, and 22d, Northerly ; on the 234, from 4.10 p.m., Westerly ; on the 24th became N.W. at 12.80 a.m., W. at 1 p.m., in which quarter it remained till 5 p.m. on the 26th, when it moved through N. to N.B., becoming E. at 7 p.m., moving from E. to N.B. at 3 a.m. on the 28th, becoming S.E. at 10.10 a.m. on the 29th, S.S.E. at 10.20 a.m., S.E. at 2.50 p.m., E.S.E. at 8.30 a.m. on the 30th, and E. at 10.45 a.m., in which quarter it remains. The barometer had a mean pressure of 295 inches on the 18th and 19th, 29.9 on the 20th, 301 on the 21st, 291 on the tlil, 291 on the 23d, 29.5 on the 24th and 25th, 29-6 on the 26th, 297 on the 27th, 30-1 on the 28th, reaching a maximum of 30-372 on the 29th, at 10 a.m. ; from noon it fell rapidly, and by 10 p.m. was 301, and at 10 a.m. on the 30th only 29.5, having fallen above 8-10ths of an inch. On the 29th the temperature rose 26 deg. in twelve hours. At? p.m a S.E. gale commenced, with snow, and continued all night. This morning snow, accompanied by rain and sleet ; at 11 a.m. a thaw commenced, and now (2 p.m.) the temperature is 2 deg. above the freezing point.

Yorkshire. Mr. 8. Ingram, of Mirfleld, writes—" In my garden two ther- mometers are suspended, near each other, 4 feet from the ground. Of one the scale goes down to 4, of the other to 15 below zero. At Sam. on the 25th, the mercury in both had disappeared into the bulbs. Another thermometer was put out near them during the day, since which time the three have worked very nearly together. At 5 a.m. today the three marked 4 deg. I think we may say thaton Christmas Day we had 47 deg. of frost."

Mr. Barrington Cook presents a contrast to the great cold experienced in inland places in observations taken in Scarborough, which illustrates in a striking manner the effect of the sea temperature in modifying the cold on the East coat. The temperature of the sea has been about 44 deg. during the last ten days.

1860. Max. Min. Wind,

Deg. Deg.

December 20 30-3 26-0 N.B. Hail and snow.

„ 2t 320 300 N.E. Hail and snow.

If 22 34• 0 33-0 N.E . Hail and snow.

„ 23 320 26-0 N.B. Snowy day.

„ 24 24-0 210 W.S.W. Clear day.

„ 25 20•0 160 W.S. W. Clear day.

eg 32-0 24'0 S.S.E. Dull day. „ .., " 27 350 30'0 S.E. flail at times.

28 34'5 31'0 S.E. Hail at times. Mr. William Osborn, of Grimstone, sends his notes of the temperature of Christ- mas Eve and Day—

December 24-10 p.m zero. December 25— 9 a.m 4 degs.

10 degs. zero.

II

., 25— 7 a.m.

„ 25— 8 a.rn . 3 deg,s. :5_5-1121 ma.m

5 degs.

The notes were made from two thermometers, ib.oth on North aspects, and about 50 yards apart.

Lancashire. Mr. Thomas Taylor, of Wigan, says—" The cold has been so much more intense here than any recorded by your correspondents that I am induced to give yon the maximum and minimum of my thermometer, hanging at the South front of my house, six feet from the ground—

Max. Min. MM. on the 9,3 Ground. Dec. 205 10 3'5 Dec. 24

25 10-50 4 2

Dec. 24 10 8'5 * This is the lowest maximum I have ever recorded."

Kent. During the whole of Friday and Saturday, several hundreds of the troops at Chatham were employed in clearing away the snow which had accumulated on the parade-grounds and in the vicinity of the various barracks of that garrison, the snow having fallen to such a depth as to interfere with the usual parades and drills of the troops. The soldiers were also employed in cutting away the snow from that portion of the lines near the barracks, the roads passing through which were ren- dered impassible. It is several years since there was such a heavy fall of snow at Chatham as has been experienced daring the last few days.

The Tyne. On Thursday week, the Tyne had a singular appearance on New castle Quay and Gateshead. It was entirely frozen over from the Tyne Bridge to the bottom of the quay, forming a very floe sheet of ice. Hundreds of persons were upon the ice, skating and sliding, and in the afternoon it appeared as if all the quay-side brokers and merchants had taken to the ice, and were disporting them- selves as if they were boys again. A tent was erected in the middle of the river, from which refreshments were dispensed. It is thirty-five years since the Tyne was frozen over. The river is entirely blocked up down to the low end of the Long Reach. At Bill Point, St. Laurence, and some other parts of the river, an immense mass of ice accumulated. Above Tyne Bridge the river is entirely covered with ice.. Sunday and Monday were the coldest days ever remembered in the county of North- umberland.

Edinburgh. The city and surrounding country were wrapped for eight days in a thick sheet of snow, and frost has set in with a severity that has not been paralleled for many years. In the town the thermometer has fallen to 8 deg. Fahrenheit, and in some exposed situations in the country. has fallen several degrees below zero. For several days the frost has been accompanied by a fog so dense as to require gaslight at midday, and on Monday a serious collision took place between two of the steamer& plying on the Burntisland and Granton ferry, the fog being so thick that one could scarcely see three or four yards off. The trains have in many eases been coming in very late, owing to the slippery state of the rails, and some of them have been sus- pended during the continuance of the storm. The snow, arrested while falling from the houstops, hangs in crusted masses and crystals from the eaves, and the windows, even of warm rooms, are frosted in exquisite patterns, resembling the flora of fossils. Carts are bus.y removing the snow from the thoroughfares—a labour almost equal to the cleaning of the Augean stable; several sleighs and sledges have appeared on the streets, and the furs and overclothes now worn would serve for almost a Lapland winter. To the poor the present visitation is excessively severe, causing not only infinite hardship, but attended with the suspension of nearly every kind of outdoor labour. The sickness and mortality have also been greatly in- creased by the present trying weather. The bursting of waterpipes and stoppage of gasmeters are among the domestic inconveniences from which we at present suffer.

Lincolnshire. Dr. Parkinson, of Grimsby, reports, that—" Just after midnight the thermometer stood at 28 deg, below freezing point; at 7.30 a.m. it was 4 deg. below zero, and just before sunrise the cold was still more intense, and I noted 6 deg. below zero, the maximum cold on Christmas Day."

Norfolk. The weather in Norfolk continued very severe up to Saturday evening. The thermometer was several degrees below the freezing point, and a bitter wind made the cold still more intense. Communication by water between Norwich. Yarmouth, and Lowestoft, has been suspended for some days, the rivers Yare and Waveney being blocked with ice. The thermometer during the week just closed has on several days fallen almost to zero. [At the Cambridge Observatory it was observed to be 4 deg. below zero on Christmas Eve.] The wheats and turnips, being protected by a heavy fall of snow, are not expected to suffer from the severe cold, and the frost is thought to have done good in killing off the slugs and vermin which had begun to attack the delicate young plants. Essex. The fall of snow and subsequent thaw has produced a flood, such as has not been known for many years ; all the marsh land near London is submerged; the deposit will be very beneficial, but the flood is disastrous to the young corn. Three persons were last week frozen to death. In Chelmsford and Colchester houses are uninhabitable.

Wales. At Court y Collen, "during the night of the 24th instant (Christmas Eve), my register Fahrenheit thermometer, facing the North, stood at 1 deg, above zero, and at 93 a.m. the mercury indicated 3 deg. below zero." Gloucestershire. J. D. of Dymock says—" On the 24th, Fahrenheit's thermometer marked 8 deg. at 9 a.m., and 5 deg. at 11 p.m.; on the 25th, it y■ as at 5 deg. below zero at 9 a.m. I do not remember to have ever heard of such an intense degree of cold in England. The thermometer stands five feet from the ground, with a North aspect." Staffordshire. " S. L." writes from Cheadle—" On the morning of the 22d, the thermometer registered 15 below zero. The thermometer was placed four feet from the ground, exposed to the North-east."

Devonshire. Mr. E. 'Vivian communicates an "extract from the Meteorological Journal which I keep for transmission to the Registrar-General affording very con- clusive evidence of the advantages which we possess in South Devon, and the causes which produce our mild winter, as well as cool summer climate- 1860 9 a.m. Max. MM. 1860 9 a.m. Max. Min. deg. deg. deg. deg. dz. deg.

Dec. 17 37 42 32 Dec. 24 26 32

Dec. 18 32 39 90 Dec. 25 33 98 33 Dec. 19 33 33 27 Dec. 26 38 39 36 Dec. 20 32 36 24 Dec. 27 39 . 39 32 Dec. 21 32 36 26 Dec. 28 32 38 29 Dec. 22 30 34 22 Dec. 29 3.5 52 36 Dec. 23 28 34 25 Dec. 30 32 54 — On the 18th, there was a rather severe white frost, and during the night snow fell to the depth of 23 inches, and remained on the ground until the 26th. The weather during each day was brilliant and calm. On the 27th, when the heavy fall of snow took place in the inland counties, we had rain, with a temperature of 39 deg., snow entirely disappeared, and, with the exception of the night of the 28th, we have not since had the thermometer below the freezing point. The fall of rain during the past unusually wet year has been as follows—January, 456 inches; February*, 1•00; March, 211; April, 103; May, 321; June, 6.67: July, 0.59; August, 3'2l; September, 2'48; October, 1'48; November, 406; December (to the 29th), l'82; total, 36.22 inches. This is about six inches above the annual average." From other parts of Devonshire we learn that the weather, during the past week, has been extremely severe. It was many years ago that the snow fell so heavily as it has in every part of the county, or that the frost was so severe. The River Exe, and other streams, have been frozen so as to admit of skating; and hundreds of per- sons have indulged themselves in this recreation. The weather, as may be expected, has put a stop to nearly all out-door labour; and the result has been that a large number of workmen have been thrown out of employ. Great privations have been endured by many families ; but it is gratifying to state, that in many towns efforts to relieve the poor have been made with great success.

Hampshire. It blew a hurricane at Southampton on Monday night, and caused the Indian mail packet Ceylon to drag her anchor and run ashore outside tbg Southampton Dock. She was got off without damage. Her passengers and mails had been landed on Monday afternoon. The small steamer, while conveying the former from the ship, went ashore owing to a fog. The Royal Artillery stationed in the garrison erected on Southsea common, on Saturday. a snow fort of large di- mensions, with walls of considerable thickness, and nearly eight feet in height. This, as on the former occasion, was defended by one party, and stormed by another. 'lo take the fort, however, the assailants had to call in the aid of gunpowder, and thus effected a breach at one of the angles. The Times correspondent writes from Portsmouth on the 27th—" A heavy fall of snow, accompanied by a high S.E. wind, set in here shortly after dark last evening, the wind increasing in force as night came on, until at midnight it blew a stiff gale. The crews of the vessels anchored off Ryde. Isle of Wight, state that their vessels pitched bows under, a tremendous roll of sea setting in over the banks. Two schooners, coal-laden, which were moored on the sands to the windward of Ryde Pier, broke loose from their moorings, and drove right through the pier, leaving chasms of fifty yards in length. The passengers from Ryde by the steamboats crossing to Portsmouth bad to be taken below the scene of accident in carts, and from them transferred by boats to the outer end of the pier, to enable them to em- bark in the steamboats. About 10 p.m. some female servants in a gentleman's house in Pelham's Shrubs, a short distance outside the town, arrived in Ryde, and stated that they could hear men's voices calling out for help at a distance from the shore. Some water-men proceeded in the direction that had been named, and found two men clinging to the masthead of a sunken barge, and nearly exhausted by their exertions to make themselves heard, and from the violence of the weather. A barge was also sunk to the windward of the pier, and several other vessels severely injured."

Isle of Wight. "Without troubling you with that fallacious guide, 'the mean temperature,' as an instance of the taming influence of the present severe weather, there are frequently as many as eight blackbirds and thrushes, with an equal num- ber of finches and goldfinches, feeding under my window, almost with the compo- sure of chickens in 'a poultry-yard ; the whole—I mention" it is an ornithological curiosity—under the auspices of a redbreast, who repels with heroic pertinactity the approach of any sparrow to their feeding ground. To this I may add, our streets and roads from side to side arc one Spread of ice, and that our stage-coaches, the horses being duly sharpened, find it difficult to keep the road. These, with coals at 36s. per „ton, make us intimately sensible of the amenities of the season, even in Ventnor."

Metropolis.—Throughout Saturday the frost continued very intense, although the sun shone out most brilliantly. Within the main building of the Crystal Palace the temperature ranged between 45 and 50, while the Tropical Department was as high as 60. Outside the palace the thermometer registered 30 at midday, and at five o'clock it had fallen to 27. The ice on the lakes and ornamental reser- voirs was on Saturday in the most solid and perfect order, and afforded excellent skating. On the evening of Saturday the thermometer rose slightly, the sky assumed a leaden hue, and snow began to fall before midnight, the wind at that time being in a Southward direction, and rather keen. Early on Sunday morning, however, after a considerably fall of snow and sleet, the mercury rose rapidly, and by nine o'clock in the forenoon it stood at 34. By noon the wind had veered to the South-west, the thermometer registering 39, the barometer indicating" change," with a soft wind, and drizzling rain falling continuously. During the whole of the forenoon the thaw continued without intermission, the streets becoming almost impassible to pedestrians. The thaw continued all day, and the " Scotch mist" also, and consequently, though in the morning and for some hours large bodies of snow-mud lay on the carriage-way, by nightfall its bulk had very materially diminished.

Considerable confusion and annoyance was caused on Sunday morning in many parts of the metropolis in houses having a peculiar kind of roof, from which the snow requires to be removed before a thaw takes place. The suddenness of the thaw caused the water in many cases to pour through the ceilings in the upper stories literally in buckets full, causing much injury and destruction.

There is at present a most active and extensive system of recruiting for Hungary going on in Naples, under the direction of Hungarian officers, who have either remained in or come to Naples for this special purpose. Almost all the officers of the late Garibaldian army who have enlisted are promoted in this Hungarian corps. Generals Turr and Eber, who are both at Milan, are likewis- actively engaged in recruiting for Hungary. Milan, indeed,. may be considered as the -Hungarian head-quarters ; but both the niapolitan and Milanese recruits receive instructions to repair to Constan-

tinople as the common spot of rendezvous. Almost the whole of Eber's brigade has enlisted for Hungary. This is likewise the case with the battalion formerly belonging to Turr's division commanded by Major Tanara. The corps of Garibaldi's Guides remains at Naples, whereit would seem that Colonel Misaori awaits the orders and, at the fitting moment, the arrival of Garibaldi. The general recruiting for a Hungarian campaign, likely to take place at a very early period, is openly carried on.— .Daily News. A somewhat singular fact is mentioned in the Russian journals ; several ladies regularly attend the lectures of Professors of the University of St. Petersburg, and take notes like students.